Seal-lock



no Model.)

A. 0. DAYTON.

SEAL LOOK.

Patented Apr. 3. 1883..

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AARON O. DAYTON, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA,

SEAL- LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 275,026, dated April 3,1883.

(X0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AARON OGDEN DAY- TON, of Williamsport, county ofLycoming, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Door- Fasteners for Freigh t-Gars, of whichimprovements the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of doorfastenings which have beenadopted on all railroads as the most effective for protecting loadedcars from being tampered with between one station and another, and inwhich a wire and seal take the place of lock and key; and it is theobject of my improvement to reduce such a fastening to its simplest formin con- 7 struction, while rendering it more effective in operation thanany heretofore used or applied in connection with a sliding door.

The requirements of a fastening for railroad traffic are as follows: Itmust be adapted to use in connection with a sliding door; it must besimple and of strong construction; it must be self securing, so that itwill not be displaced by the jolting of the car in motion or by any ot'the jars and shocks attending the makcapable of being readily operatedwhen the door is to be opened or closed, and it must be protectedagainst being tampered with or displaced without detection when it isonce secured by seal-wire fastening generally used on loaded cars.

The nearest approach to what has been indicated by experience as thebest adapted to the requirements of railroad trafficis the primitivehasp slipping over a staple, with a pin passed through the staple tohold the hasp in place, the wire being then passed through the pinandhasp and the seal affixed. This device reached a form in which it wasquite effective, except in two important particulars: first, it requiredthe use of a pin, which involved the use of a chain to prevent the lossof a pin; second, it embodied no suitable means of afiixing theseal-wire free from exposure to abrasion, and it was capable of beingunfastened without disturbing the sealwire, and so without detection.

It is the object of my improvement to obviate all necessity for pins andchains to perfeet the hasp-and-staple fastening, so that it maybe fittedoloselyand hold the sliding door snuglyin place, may he used with aswell as without a lock and key, may be secured with a wire and seal orwith the thin metal strip sometimes substituted for the wire and seal onthroughcars, with special provisions for protecting the seal-wire frombeing cut or broken by the working of the hasp while the carisin motion,and to render it impossible to open the door when once sealed withoutcutting or breaking the wire.

In the accompanying drawings, which form partof this specification,Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved fastening complete and securedwith a wire and seal. Fig. 2 is a plan. Fig. 3 is a side elevation,showing the hasp in section, and by dotted lines showing the movement ofthe hasp over the staple or catch-piece.

Fig. 4 is a plan of the plate which receives the,

inner end of the stud-pin. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the stud-pin inplace, with the holdlug-plate in section. Figs. 6, 7,and 8 are viewsshowing a modification of the fastening, as hereinafter explained.

A represent the stud or pin, having at its inner end a head, a, andadjacent recess a, and at its outer end a bent neclga and a head, a asshown.

B is a plate having a circular opening, I), which is large enough topermit the head a of the stud A to pass through the same, and a straightslot, 1), connecting with the opening I), which is small enough toprevent the return of the head when the plate has been moved intoposition behind the head in the manner well understood. The plate, whenin its proper position to hold the stud, is itself held by means ofscrews, as shown, and by means of this hole the stud A, when in properposition, is securely held in the frame of the car-door, and projectsfrom the outside thereof.

0 represents thehasp, having in one end the re-ent'orced hole, and aboutits center and near the outer end the vertical rectangular slots 0 c, asshown.

0 represents a small projection upon the plate 0, about midway betweenthe slots 0 0 which is provided with a suitable hole through which topassthe wire or thin strip of the seal, hereinafter referred to. Thestud is slipped through the hole 0 in the hasp, being secured in placeby the plate B, and the hasp is thus suspended by its inner end, and hasa free shackling movement upon the neck of the stud.

D represents a catch-piece corresponding in position and purpose withthe main staple of the ordinary hasp. This piece consists of a shankportion, d, with threaded end (1, having a nut, as shown, and a headportion, 61 with curved bearing-face d and recess or cutaway portion d,as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. A hole, (i in the head portion of D isprovided to receive the bow of a padlock when it is desirable to useone. This piece D is bolted through the frame-post of the car at thedooropening in the proper position to project through one or the otherslots of the hasp, according to the position of the door. This is thebest form in which I have practically embodied my invention.

The operation is as follows: The hasp having been secured upon the studA and the catch-piece to the car at the proper points, the door may beclosed and fastened, or fastened without being entirely closed, byswinging the hasp over the catch-piece, which fits into one of theslots. The length of the slot in the hasp-plate being less than the headportion of the head-piece in a vertical plane,

the hasp-plate cannot be passed to place by a simple swinging movementin a horizontal plane from its axial point, but must be lifted andtipped into such position that the vertical slot can pass behind theprojection of the catch-piece, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 3, andthen be swung down into the vertical position, as shown insection-lines, Fig. 3. WVhen in this position it will be seen that thehasp cannot be removed from the slot in the catchpiece without firstinclining the hasp outward, and then raising it upward so as to lift itover the head of the catch-piece, and these two movements cannotpossibly occur at the same instant from any jarring or jolting or othermovement of the car. Consequently the hasp can only be removed by hand,and, when once fastened by the seal-wire, cannot be removed by handuntil the wire is broken. The stud at the outer end of the hasp and theheadpiece both being of such form that they cannot be tampered withwithout detection, the fastening is thus absolutely protected, and thewire is not subjected to any abrasion or danger of being cut by themovements of the hasp.

The above-described operation of the hasp obviates all necessity for theuse of a pin, as heretofore, and cures all the trouble previously hadwith pins and chains.

To seal the car, a wire or tin strip is passed through the hole 01 inthe head portion (1 and through the hole in the projection 0 and securedby a seal in the manner well understood; or the bow of a padlock may bepassed through the hole (1 in the catch-piece.

I have described and shown the hasp with two slots for difit'erentpositions of the door but of course I claim my improvement whether oneor two slots are used.

In the modification of the construction shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, Erepresents a hasp-plate having longitudinal openings 0 c; and F is acurved catch-piece adapted to project through these slots, and providedwith an opening,f, as shown.

G represents a facing-plate, in the upper end of which is a hole toreceive the seal wire or strip, the upper end of this plate being curvedor inclined forward toward the catchpiece.

The operation of these parts, thus combined, is similar to that ofcorresponding parts before described. The seal wire or strip in thismodification is carried through the curved catch piece and thefacingplate, instead of through the projecting piece 0 and the holethrough the catch-piece, as in the case first described.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the stud A, having the bent end, a hasp-piece,substantially as described, shackled on the stud, so as to have alifting and swinging movement thereon, and a catch-piece having anupward extension, the combination being and operating for the purpose ofpreventing a direct vertical or horizontal displacement of thehasp-piece, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the hasp-piece, having a capacity for a liftingand swinging movement, substantially as described, the catchpiece D,with head exceeding in length the length of the slot in the hasp-plate,as described.

3. The fastening described, consisting of the stud A, hasp-plate c, withslots 0 c and projection 0 with hole for seal-wire, and the catch-pieceD, having the head d, with cutaway portion d, and opening for sealwire,as described. 1

This specification signed and witnessed this 29th day of November, 1882.

AARON OGDEN DAYTON.

Witnesses:

W. B. JORDAN, CHAS. R. SANDERS.

IIO

